Question reference: S6W-02030
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 2 August 2021
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Current status: Answered by George Adam on 26 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) provide details of what interests would determine whether it seeks Queen's consent under Rule 9.11 of the Standing Orders and (b) publish any guidance on this matter that it has (i) produced and (ii) received from representatives of the Crown.
Answer
The Parliament’s Standing Orders are required, in accordance with the Scotland Act 1998, to set out that should provisions within a Bill require the Queen’s consent if the Bill were an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament, the Bill requires Crown consent. This means that since the establishment of Scottish Parliament in 1999 the interests that determine this matter in the UK Parliament affect the application of Crown consent in the Scottish Parliament. Guidance prepared by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for the United Kingdom Government – Queen's or Prince's Consent – explains details of these interests and is taken into account by the Scottish Government. This guidance is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-or-princes-consent
The Scottish Parliament's guidance on Public Bills, available on its website, also outlines the interests that would determine the requirement for Crown Consent, notably at paragraphs 2.51-2.54: https://archive2021.parliament.scot/S5ChamberOffice/GuidanceonPublicBills_S5v2_FINAL.pdf
No guidance has been received from representatives of the Crown on the issue of Crown consent.